UPDATE: Reaction to Queen Street decision

A reduced number of buses will return to Queen Street once the Westgate Centre opens after the Department for Transport intervened.

Oxfordshire County Council had wanted to pedestrianise the street and were hoping to impose an experimental traffic order banning buses - and monitoring data before a permanent move.

But Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach objected to the ban claiming it would cause 'absolute chaos' in the city.

Their objections meant the Secretary of State for Transport has to make the final ruling.

In the absence a decision the DfT has advised that monitoring takes place with the street open to buses.

There will be a reduction in the number of buses using Queen Street from 55 to 29 per hour when the centre opens on October 24.

The council's cabinet member for transport, Yvonne Constance, said: "I am pleased that we are able to say definitively now what will be happening on Queen Street when the Westgate opens.

“Clearly the county council wanted Queen Street to be pedestrianised when the centre opened, but the main thing now is that everyone is getting behind what is actually going to happen to make it work.

“Our view was that it was best to collect data on pedestrian numbers and bus journey times during an experimental closure, but we accept the Department for Transport’s request to do this with Queen Street open to buses.

“Despite having different views on what should happen we have continued to work with the major bus companies and will continue to talk.”